LA and first steps

Our Vacation has been great so far. Charis has been a super kid and a real trooper. She hasn't adjusted at all to the new time zone, so we have been waking up at 6:15 each day, which isn't too bad because we haven't totally adjusted either. San Diego was great and we actually saw tons of wild animals at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. There will be more to come about that later. Today we are in LA, visiting friends from of old. Charis is liking it here, and there must be something in the air or the water, because she has had tons of energy without very much sleep. She even started walking on her own today. She is walking all over the place now and sometimes just standing and looking around. I hope you enjoy the videos of the first steps below.

Today we also stopped at Grace Community Church, and Charis enjoyed preaching from behind John MacArthur's pulpit. I hope he doesn't find out that she's Amill (inside joke). LA was just like we remembered it, dirty and huge, but the traffic wasn't too bad.

Tomorrow we are off to Santa Cruz and the beach. We're having a great time, but miss you all at home. The cities are nice here, but nothing compares to Chicago and the beautiful lakefront skyline. More to come later...

Recovering and Ready to Go

Wow, what a week. I am thankful to say that I survived the lock-in at our church over the weekend. It was brutal staying up all night, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The events kept my attention, and between Sardines, water-balloon fights, midnight worship, and the classic Robin Hood cartoon, the evening passed pretty quickly. I think I was most pleased with the time of worship we had at around 2 am. We gathered in the sanctuary and the students requested songs from the past two years of youth group meetings. We sang together for almost an hour and there were still hands up to request more songs. We ended up adding another time for singing at 6 am that morning, and it was a sweet time to just sing and rejoice in the Lord, even in the midst of our fatigue.

Overall, I am very pleased with where our youth group is spiritually. They requested songs like In Christ Alone, and Dear Refuge of my Weary Soul and really sang them. Those are not easy songs to understand, even for adults, yet our students cherish the lyrics and the tunes. The students have also initiated a weekly discussion group where they talk about the recent sermon from Sunday or what they've been studying personally from scripture. One of our leaders hosts this, but the students are the ones initiating and executing this every week. There is also a growing number of students in discipleship groups. I am so thankful that God is working in the hearts of these students. It isn't just emotional hype and good times when we gather, it is actual mental and spiritual growth godliness. Praise God for His faithfulness.

Well, I leave for my final vacation of the year on Friday. We'll be heading our to the West coast to see my parent's families. That means San Diego, LA, and San Francisco all in one week. I'm looking forward to it, not only because I haven't been out to CA in a long time, but because this is my first time out there with Moriah and Charis. Neither of them have been out to the Pacific. I'm sure Charis will be drowned in love from both sides of the family. I'll make sure to post some pics from the trip. Until then, adios...